Giants' non-roster invitees include Piscotty, top prospects
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SAN FRANCISCO -- Top pitching prospect Kyle Harrison and veteran outfielder Stephen Piscotty will be among the Giants’ 37 non-roster invitees this spring, the club announced Monday.
Harrison, 21, will be in big league camp for the first time after logging a 2.71 ERA with 186 strikeouts over 113 innings between High-A Eugene and Double-A Richmond in 2022. The De La Salle High School (Concord, Calif.) product is slated to open the season at Triple-A Sacramento, but he’s already turning heads within the organization and appears poised to debut with the Giants at some point this year.
“His 'pens have been electric,” manager Gabe Kapler said of the Giants’ No. 2 prospect. “He’s throwing hard. There’s a real physical presence there.”
Piscotty, a fellow Bay Area native who attended Amador Valley High School (Pleasanton) and Stanford, gives the Giants another right-handed option for their outfield mix, which already includes Michael Conforto, Mitch Haniger, Mike Yastrzemski and Austin Slater. With Joc Pederson expected to draw most of his at-bats at the designated hitter spot, Piscotty could compete with Luis González and Heliot Ramos for the fifth outfield spot this spring.
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Piscotty, 32, spent the last five seasons with the A’s, though he was released last August after batting .190 with a .593 OPS over 42 games. He will earn $1 million if he makes the big league roster, according to FanSided’s Robert Murray.
Other non-roster invitees with Major League experience include former Braves left-hander Sean Newcomb; former Rangers and Yankees first baseman Ronald Guzmán, who will be in camp as a two-way player; and catchers Austin Wynns and Roberto Pérez, who are expected to compete for playing time behind the plate this spring.
The Giants will have their top three prospects in big league camp this year, as Harrison will be joined by shortstop Marco Luciano (No. 1) and outfielder Luis Matos (No. 3), both of whom were added to the 40-man roster in November. San Francisco will also get a look at third baseman Casey Schmitt (No. 6), outfielder Vaun Brown (No. 10), catcher Patrick Bailey (No. 12) and reliever R.J. Dabovich (No. 20) this spring.
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Like Harrison, the 23-year-old Schmitt could have a chance to break into the Majors this year, especially since the club plans to give him the opportunity to play some shortstop in big league camp.
“Casey Schmitt has taken some major strides in the organization,” Kapler said. “If you ask people around our camp, we feel like he’s among our top few position-player prospects that has a chance to make an impact on our roster in ‘23 and then hopefully for a lot of years to come.”
Here’s the full list of non-roster invitees who will be in Giants camp:
Pitchers (18)
RHP Melvin Adón
LHP Raymond Burgos
RHP R.J. Dabovich
RHP Sam Delaplane
RHP Nick Duron
RHP Jorge Guzman
LHP Kyle Harrison
RHP Trevor Hildenberger
RHP Mauricio Llovera
RHP Kade McClure
LHP Erik Miller
LHP Sean Newcomb
RHP Ljay Newsome
LHP Darien Núñez
RHP Joe Ross
RHP Drew Strotman
LHP Daniel Tillo
RHP Miguel Yajure
Two-way players (1)
LHP Ronald Guzmán (P/IF)
Catchers (6)
Brett Auerbach
Patrick Bailey
Brett Cumberland
Ricardo Genovés
Roberto Pérez
Austin Wynns
Infielders (8)
Armando Alvarez
Tyler Fitzgerald
Ford Proctor
Casey Schmitt
Donovan Walton
Colton Welker
Brady Whalen
Will Wilson
Outfielders (4)
Vaun Brown
Clint Coulter
Bryce Johnson
Stephen Piscotty